Are you Better Off?
by alu.ox
Summary: (S5:E22) What if the pregnancy test had been Leslie's? When Andy bursts into the "Are you Better Off?" forum, what would have happened if the test he found at Ron's cabin was Leslie's?


" **I MEAN** , **IT** ' **S** not like I'm some kind of sex-crazed maniac or something–"

Leslie was interrupted at quite possibly the most important forum she'd ever had by her colleague, Andy.

"Leslie! Are you pregnant?" He called out bluntly as her best friend, Ann, followed behind. The door slammed behind them.

You could hear a pin drop. His voice echoed throughout the room. Leslie's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. He found it.

"Did you or did you not leave this," he pulled out a pregnancy test, "positive pregnancy test in a dumpster in the woods." Andy stopped and looked around. "Hey everybody!"

Nobody paid any attention to him, though. All eyes were on Leslie, awaiting her response. Of course, right now, the only eyes that she could feel were her husband's, Ben. They were burning into her skin, and she wantedto melt into a couldn't  
believe that Andy found it; she was so careful that nobody was around when she threw it away. She was so careful to excuse herself to puke in the toilet at work.

Leslie refused to meet Ben's eyes. She couldn't. She just knew that if she looked at him, it would be over, especially _now_ that she had just claimed she wasn't addicted to sex. So Leslie did the only thing she could think of, and lied.

"No," she annunciated clearly. "No!"

"Oh," Andy shrugged. "Okay. Bye everyone!" He turned and left. Ann waited around a second, giving Leslie a look that told her she knew, and gave her a sympathetic smile.

Once they were gone, Leslie stared at the ghosts of her two friends. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ben let out a sigh and close his eyes. Immediately, she felt awful for lying. But she'd find a way to tell him, just, not rightnow.  
Instead, she let her head fall, and slightly hit it against the podium.

The eyes of the people were still on her, but she decided to ignore them for a minute. The weight of the world was on her shoulders, and she couldn't shake it off.

* * *

 **IT HAD BEEN** slightly awkward between Leslie and Ben all day since the forum.

After work, he put his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to the car, saying a brief, "hello."

The car ride home was mostly silent, with the usual, "how was your day?" and nothing more.

"Can you stop by the drugstore?" Leslie asked him.

Ben nodded. "Do you need something?"

"Um, yeah. A phone charger," she said quickly.

"Okay." He pulled into the parking lot of the closest Walgreens. They walked inside together, his arm around her waist, holding her closely.

"I'm going to the restroom," he said. "Be back in a second."

Leslie gave him a quick nod, and as soon as he was out of sight, she bolted for the shelf of pregnancy tests. She just wanted to double check, and she figured that having one to show him was the easiest way to tell him about the maybe-baby.

She rushed to the cash register and paid for the test, tucking it inside her blazer.

"Is this noticeable?" She asked the woman behind the counter.

"Not really. Just don't attract attention to it," the lady answered. "It's not my place to speak, but I've found that it helps to be honest." She stepped backwards, and Leslie could see the large baby bump.

She looked over to the restrooms, where Ben was making his way back towards her. "Is it hard?"

The lady huffed. "Yeah. It is. But you seem like the kind of woman who can handle a tough situation."

Leslie looked down at her heels. "Thank you."

Ben reappeared at her side. "Are you ready? Did you find the charger?"

Leslie looked at him, back to the cashier. "No. They don't carry the kind I need here."

"What are you talking about? It's a simple iPhone cord. . ." Ben trailed off as Leslie tugged on his sleeve.

"Doesn't matter," she said. "Let's go home."

The rest of the car ride back felt like it took hours, but that's only because Leslie's heart was beating so fast that she thought Ben could hear it. When they finally pulled into the driveway, Leslie rushed to the door.

"What is going on with you?" Ben asked her, his brows furrowed.

"Um, nothing. Just, uh, nothing. It's nothing. Can you have a seat?" She motioned to the couch, and he sat down. Leslie sat on the coffeetable directly in front of him, so their knees touched. "Ben, we have to talk–"

"Hang on. I want you to know something real quick," he interrupted.

"Ben. It really can't wait."

"Leslie. Give me a minute."

She sighedreluctantly, but let him continue.

"Things have been a little weird since the forum, and I'm sorry. The idea of starting a family seems so unreal to me, that it's hard to wrap my head around it." He took her hands. "But I want to talk about it. I don't think we should be likethis,  
you know, sitting in an uncomfortable silence with a million things to say, and not saying anything. Know what I mean?"

Leslie smiled and nodded, forgetting about the maybe-baby. "Yeah, I do."

"We need to be on thesame team." He added.

Leslie moved forward so she was sitting on his lap. "We'll always be on the same team."

She put her forehead on his, gently putting her lips on his. Ben's hands slowly guided themselves so they were wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. She ran her hands through his hair and opened her mouth.

Ben could feel her smile against his lips, and moved his hands upward until they were removing Leslie's blazer. Suddenly, a thud hit the ground.

He opened his eyes, slowly pulling away from her, reaching down to pick it up.

Leslie's heart just about blew out of her chest.

"Leslie," he whispered. "What is this?"

"Right now, it's nothing." She whispered back. She didn't look at it, instead she closed her eyes and kissed Ben again, but he turned his head away.

"No. It _is_ something." He said, his tone was hard and a little cold. She let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry–" she began, but Ben dismissed her.

"Was the pregnancy test yours?" He asked sternly.

Her breathing sped up. A single tearfell from her eye.

"Was it?"

She backed up from him, back on the coffee table. And suddenly, she was bawling.

"Ben!" She cried. "I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how, and I-I-I was scared that you wouldn't be happy!"

He moved next to her, pulling her head on his shoulder. "Shh," he cooed. He stroked her hair, getting as close to her as he could.

When she finally stopped crying, Ben started talking again.

"There is no logical explanation to why I wouldn't be happy. I love you, and I would be thrilled to have a baby with you," he reassured. He picked up the pregnancy test on the couch and held it in his hands.

"I just wanted to be 100% sure," Leslie explained.

Ben stood and took Leslie's hand. They walked to the bathroom, and before she could open the door, he stopped.

"Wait, do I come with you?" He asked.

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither."

"Well, why don't you grab me a loose pair of clothes, and I'll check and I won't look at it until we both do," she offered.

"Yeah, okay," Ben's heart rate picked up as Leslie disappeared into the bathroom. His entire life was in that room.

Simultaneously, he brought her back a pair of his boxer shorts anda baggy t-shirt, what she normally slept in. When he got back, he automaticallystarted pacing the hallway floor, waiting.

"Ben!" Leslie called. He opened the door, giving her the clothes. The test was facedown on the sink, Ben noted, and hesat onthe floor against the tub. He watched Leslie change into the clothes, his eyes flickering between her and thetest.  
He smiled at how cute Leslie looked in the shorts.

She grabbed the pregnancy test and sat next to him. They hesitated every second they had.

"Ready?" She has asked. He barely registered her voice.

"Yeah."

She took a deep breath, and flipped it over.

She released her breath, and he released a tension Leslie had noticed he'd beenholding.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay," she repeated. "I'm pregnant. Like I'm going to be a mom and you're going to be a dad."

"Okay. Wow."

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

"Just that I'm psyched and excited, and just a little nervous. You?" Ben answered.

She shook her head. "This is going to be our greatest adventure."

Ben pulled her close, brushing his lips past hers teasingly. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his tie, softly tugging him closer, and kissing him deeply.

She sighed into their kiss as Ben sucked on her bottom lip, just like she always did.

Leslie's phone started ringing, startling Leslie, but not affecting Ben at all, as he slowly worked his way down to her collarbone.

She reached over and looked at the caller ID. "It's Ann. Stop for a second," she directed. But he didn't, he just continued kissing her.

"Hello?" Leslie said into the phone.

"You have to tell Ben!" Her best friend yelled.

"What are you talking about?"

"The baby!" Ann said.

" _Oh_ ," said Leslie, to both Ann and Ben. He grinned at her. His hands were under the shirt, holding her bare waist.

"I can help you figure out a way. . ." Ann drifted off when she heard Leslie hold her breath. "Are you. . .?"

"Sorry," Ben said into the phone.

"Oh my God!"

"Sorry Ann. I did tell him though." Leslie said.

"I'm hanging up now!"

The line went dead.

Leslie and Ben made out on the floor of their bathroom for a while. Her head was spinning, only one thought in her head.

Maybe we can't predict the future, but we can predict some things. For instance, this pregnancy is certainlygoing to be the hardest thing they've ever done, but it is certainly going to be amazing.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This is my first fanfiction. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm a** _ **huge Parks and Recreation**_ **fan, so it was really fun writing this. Reviews are very appreciated!**

 **xoxo,**

 **Abby**


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